Just For Young Kids No
Initially, I suspected that the lyrics of these short pieces would only seem interesting to children 4 – 7 years old, but I was so wrong.
I AM SEEING EXCITEMENT and expectation from my students. Almost every week they say, “I want a new song!” and we leaf through the book again.
And children OLDER than my target group like the songs as well, when they are beginners. They pick up the songs so quickly that they enjoy having a new one every lesson.
I think they like that these songs have a VERY SHORT learning curve! In fact, once they understand hand placement, some of the songs can be played instantly. Then they can pay more attention to counting…
Don’t forget to check out the list of songs & accompaniments – just the thing to get little ones involved in recitals – in my new book, JUST THE BLACK KEYS!
Below, you can view the list of songs in the Table of Contents.
The links to a few of the black key songs:
Hi! I’m teaching my little brother to play the piano and this is really helpful.
How To Clean Piano Keys
Unless your piano is an antique with ivory keys, a little vinegar, water and a soft cloth are all you need to buff up dirty keys. Try not to use a colored cloth. Be careful not to drip water between the keys keep the moisture just damp on the cloth. And follow with a dry cloth to buff.
If you dont know what your keys are, plastic or ivory, the best method is to check the color and surface of the keys. Ivory keys usually have visible lines shaped like semi circles, which are the natural grains of the ivory. Plastic keys are uniformly white.
With ivory keys, know that they tend to yellow with age and that a typical cleaning will not restore them to white. Ivories should be cleaned with a soft cloth and a very mild solution of dishwashing detergent. It may be possible to whiten them placing them in the sun for a few hours. Before you go this route, be sure to speak with a piano technician who has experience with ivories. The main thing to remember is that piano keys should be cleaned regularly for health reasons. Little fingers are magnets for dirt and germs!
Featured Luxury Piano
What Are The Keys On A Piano Called
Technically, white keys and black keys are called just that white and black keys!
That said, you might be wondering if theres a more technical name for both. There isnt, but white keys do have their fair share of nicknames, including naturals and ivories.
And what are the black keys on piano called?
Sorry to disappoint you, but the black keys dont have much of a name. They are sometimes called accidentals, since they usually form sharp or flat notes, but this is somewhat inaccurate, as white notes can also occasionally serve as sharps and flats, too.
Read Also: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Notes For Piano
Its Just Easier To Digest
As a pianist the less we have to worry about from the keyboard the better. Visually its much easier to see the keys when they are colored this way. We use the black keys to help guide us as we play through various repertoire. Not only is it easier to digest the piano visually, but physically as well.
The way the keys are arranged allows our fingers to naturally fall into plays. Its a contoured fit and allows pianists to play as naturally as possible. If there were no black keys we would certainly have a rough time playing anything!
The Keys Used To Be Reversed
If youve ever looked up pictures of the older keyboard instruments you might have noticed the key colors were reversed. Looking at the harpsichord and even the early models of the fortepiano the white natural keys were actually black. The half steps were white.
So why exactly did they switch those keys? Well, this actually goes back to what I was talking about earlier. It was just too difficult to see and the key colors ended up blending in with one another. Particularly with the black keys that little dark space in between them is really hard to see, so it was much easier to make mistakes on those instruments.
On a modern piano the space between the white keys is easier to see a dark line between each one so you can tell one from another. The distance between the keys is much easier to see, especially when playing octaves and scalar passages.
Why Are There 5 Black Keys
And then, sometime about the middle of the 15th century, we realized that if you could lower a note with a flat, you could also elevate a note with a sharp, so we devised the sharp and the flat. Because the piano wasnt invented until another 300 years later, it has always featured the five black keys that distinguish it from other instruments.
Read Also: Final Countdown Piano Sheet Music
Labeling Piano Keys Help To Learn Piano Chords
There are 9 types ofpiano chords, and each type has a definite set of three chords. Its impossible to learn the essential piano chords without knowing the keys.
But why wait to practice piano chords till you memorize the 88-keys?
Therefore, I suggest labeling the 88 piano keys topractice piano chords and becoming a professional piano player.
What Are The Black Keys Used For
The black keys arent usually a set of keys that beginner pieces are made of. However, they can be used for the following:
You May Like: Easy Songs To Play On Piano Sheet Music
Mother Of Pearl Antique Steinway Grand Piano Keyboard
The white keys were once darker with the sharps white, a custom said to have started in France to better show off the players hands. Many and varied materials were used to cover keys including bone, mother-of-pearl, porcelain, tortoise-shell, silver, boxwood, cedar, ebony, pear and other rare and polished woods.
At times the fronts of the naturals were beautifully carved.
In the latter 1700s Viennese keys were most often ivory. Silbermanns keys were very thick ivory. In efforts to make cheap lines of pianos, ivory was replaced with cellulose in 1862, simulating ivory, and has been used on the cheapest pianos since then.
Starting in 1959, acrylic plastic began to be used on keys, and in the sixties an embargo was put on ivory. Different countries making pianos had different standards but by the 1970s ivory in the US was off limits for key coverings.
What Are The Black Keys On A Keyboard Called
Basically, the black keys on the keyboard are either called sharps or flats. This can be confusing to beginners, so here is a helpful chart to help you get acquainted as to why the black keys are called such for their sharps and flat names:
Sharps and flats are basically half-step notes of the natural notes, which are the white keys. To explain the chart above, we define the sharps and the flats and how to read them:
You May Like: Never Gonna Give You Up Sheet Music Piano
The Key To Becoming A Better Pianist
Understanding the keys is essential if you want to be a great player. Hopefully, this post has given you all the information you need to improve!
If youre still curious about the way the keys are laid out, feel free to ask your at your next lesson. He or she will likely have a lot of knowledge about how a piano works. The more you know about your instrument, the better musician youll become!
Label The Keys That You Need
Sometimes, when youre learning a particular piece, you need only the keys that are in that particular music. So, in such cases, you can label only those keys.
For example, if youre trying tolearn Jingle Bells, you will need C, D, G, A, and B. Therefore, mark only those keys either with colorful stickers or write on the keys with a marker.
Furthermore, some students also label the keys to learn piano scales and chords. For instance, if youre finding it hard to remember how to play D major scale on piano, you can label the keys.
D major scale: D E F# G A B C# D
Learn about Piano Major Chords and Minor Chords
Piano Chords 101: A Simple Guide
Don’t Miss: Sharps And Flats On Piano
Piano Improvisation Technique #: Black Key Harmonized Turns
This technique requires a little bit more piano technique, but it sure sounds great once you get it down!
What is a harmonized turn? Generally, a turn is a nice little embellishment on the piano that quickly alternates between two adjacent notes. Harmonizing the turn involves adding a harmony note to 1 or more notes involved in that turn .
Check out our 2 harmonized turns using only black keys:
Usually, these turns involve two steps: a grab, which is laying your hand down on the first harmonized note of the turn, then following with the actually turn motion .
When you are comfortable playing the harmonized turns shown above, try the exercise below to put each of these turns in a more musical context:
TIP: Lighten up your fingers when playing turns, so you get a more flowy and dreamy quality in this style.
If you want to learn more about turns and harmonized turns then check out The Major Blues Scale .
Keyboard And Keys Dimension
A full-size keyboard has 88 keys, including 52 white and 36 black keys. Concerning dimensions, the standard length for the overall of the keyboard is circa 123 cm . For the keys the dimensions are circa 2.4 cm width for white keys and 1.4 cm width for black keys. The dimensions vary some depending on models and manufactures.
Don’t Miss: Easy On Me Easy Piano
The Key To Learning Piano Notes
Just as vital to all this as practice and perseverance are the piano notes themselves. And you can find a whole world of those, in all the wonderful musical permutations imaginable, in nkodas collection of piano sheet music.
Whether you want to learn classical or pop, jazz or rock, and whether you want to find some easy playbooks or peruse some mind-blowing concertos, you can do all that and more on the app.
The best advice that can be given to someone who wants to learn to read piano sheet music is: live, breathe and practice it. Find the music that gets you feeling inspired and dont stop playing it. Start your free trial, and your journey, today.
How Do You Learn Black Keys On The Piano
Even though keys do not have colors, in theory, the keyboard has two colors: black and white, which all notes adjust to.
As a result, black keys are just that: black keys. So Db is what were talking about. A-Sharp . B. B-Flat. B-Flat B-Flat. B-Flat. B-Flat. B-Flat, B- F Many novices believe that a sharp or flat key defines a black key. For example Sharps and flats are black keys however, not all black keys are sharps or flats.
The sharp and flat keys of the piano are sometimes known as the black keys. Sharps and flats are what youre looking for if you see a note written like this: C# or A. The sharp is denoted by a #. whereas the flat is represented by a Each black note is a semitone higher or lower than its corresponding white key.
As an example We obtain a sharp D# if we take the D white note and shift it to the black one above it. Likewise, we obtain D if we shift down a semitone to the black note below D.
Spend some time memorizing the names of the black keys and try if you can tell the difference in pitch between them and their white counterparts. First, lets concentrate on going from Middle C to the right. C sharp is the black key directly to the right. This is a half-step higher than C. Youll be atD if you take another half stride.
The sharps are C#. D#. F# G#. and A#, in sequence from Middle C to the right. B# and E# are C and F. respectively, despite the former being rarely used. Always keep in mind that sharps are located on the right side of a note.
You May Like: City Of Stars Chords Piano
Its A Good Thing Pianos Have Black Keys
Black keys on a piano keyboard are very important. They give us a recognizable pattern that helps us quickly find notes, and they provide all the sharps or flats we need to play in any key signature. Thank you, black piano keys! You help make the piano the amazing, versatile instrument that people love to learn and play all over the world.
Topics
Where To Find Yamaha Piano Serial Number
Yamaha VERTICAL PIANOS have their serial numbers stamped on the gold colored plate on the interior of the piano, as seen in the vertical piano photograph. The serial number may be found by opening the toplid of the piano and seeing inside the pianos inner chamber. Contents1 Where do you find a piano serial number?2
Read Also: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Piano Note
Piano Notes : Complete Beginners Guide
02.02.2022 Ben Maloney Piano
This blog has already posted a series of articles touching on interaction with piano sheet music. Together they approach the subject in a range of ways, identifying and tackling different focus areas, such as interpreting staff notation and developing sight-reading skills.
The article aims to bring all these topics into one space, giving you a comprehensive and accessible guide to reading, learning and playing notes for and on the keyboard.
Well be looking at these various questions in context and detail and providing links to these other articles where appropriate, so that you can concentrate on whichever skills you want to hone.
Here it is, then: the complete guide to piano notes.
White And Black Keys On A Piano: How Many Keys On A Piano
How many keys does a piano have? The number of keys on piano varies, but usually, there is a set number of both black and white keys.
How many white keys on a piano? Usually, there are 52 white keys. And how many black keys on a piano? Typically, youll find 36. If the piano doesnt have the full 88 keys, the number of keys for the black to white ratio will decrease proportionally, with one octave equalling seven white keys and five black keys.
Pianos are arranged with white keys for the musical tones of A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The black keys fill in the gaps for the remaining half-steps, which are notated as sharps or flats as a key signature or accidentals within the .
Youll get to know the keys on piano as you , to begin with. The C scale, for example, is played without any sharps or flats. That means that all of the notes are played only on the white keys. Other scales include some of the black keys, depending on how many sharps or flats are in the key. For instance, the key of D has two sharps in it, F sharp and C sharp, which are played on the black keys.
Recommended Reading: How Much Does An Upright Piano Weight
The Secret Of Hand Placement
Below, see what the Dog House and Grandma’s House look like.
Here is a pretty two-page song which uses both hands at the same time – not impossible for your little ones!
If you are NEW to this kind of music, please remember: ONLY FINGERS 2, 3, & 4 will be used in one hand, and ONLY FINGERS 2 & 3 in the other hand!
A very simple song – but with such clever words. Some of my students know the last line as “celery stewed is more QUIETLY chewed.”
Now, a song for Christmas!
“Christmas-time” is pretty easy, and the lyrics – admittedly – pretty obvious! Everything does not have to be a work of art to please young children. )
When the notes are stacked over each other as in the last line of “Christmas Time”, you know that it’s “hands together.”
See what one mother did to help her young son sort his hands out for this song “lime” for Left Hand, and “red” for Right Hand:
Please scroll down the page for the download links.
Just in time for the Christmas holidays, this song may be familiar already to your students. I like to prepare students for folk or traditional songs by warning them that it might sound “different” from other versions.
In my “Just the Black Keys” book, there is a boogie pattern going on in the accompaniment part :
Because this is a “folk” tune, every region or country where this song is known might use slightly different – or VERY different – notes! This is only half of the piece, but it is probably enough to satisfy your little beginners.
